Kamran Akmal was 'Kami' for bookie Majeed

Text messages retrieved from Mazhar Majeed's mobile phone indicate his close ties with Kamran Akmal, who was nicknamed 'Kami' by the alleged fixer.

Written by Press Trust of India

Read Time: 3 mins

London:

Text messages retrieved from Mazhar Majeed's mobile phone indicate his close ties with Pakistani wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who was nicknamed 'Kami' by the alleged match-fixer.

British tabloid 'The News of the World', which has blown the lid off the betting scam that has led to the suspension of three Pakistani players, came out with more sensational details of the modus operandi of the alleged fixers.

These include messages from Majeed's mobile which are now under investigation by police.

The newspaper has also uncovered new photographs showing the proximity between Majeed and the Pakistan squad. The snaps were taken at an Indian restaurant in Perth, Australia, on January 30, a day after Pakistan were beaten by 135 runs by the Aussies in a one-day international.

The tour was a disaster for Pakistan. Apart from being whitewashed 5-0 in the one-day games, they lost the Test Series 3-0.

The controversial second Test defeat led to close scrutiny of Akmal, who dropped a series of catches.

A match-fixing probe into him was launched on February 26. A day later Majeed was texted from a British number. The message read: "Kamran Akmal has been accused of match fixing."

A month later - on March 5 - another text to Majeed read: "Salam bro pls be careful if you are dealing with any financial matter with Kami I am sure you are aware he and one other player is very much into match fixing allegations."

The messages exchanged between Mazhar and his brother Azhar might now help the police nab players who are involved in the corruption ring that has shaken the core of international cricket.

One text from Azhar to Majeed on March 25 reads: "Let's great f***g hold of cricket and squeeze everything we can from it."

In reply to the text, Majeed said: "Exactly the attitude I wanted from you yesterday."

A blizzard of messages sent to numbers around the world -- including America, India, Italy, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates -- hold the key to unravelling the scandal.

Quoting a source, the report said, "Messages have been sent and received from a vast range of contacts. We are working quickly to establish whether codes were used in these text messages, who they were sent to and where they were sent."

Majeed's texts provide a insight into his shady world.

On May 10, the day Pakistan played Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 match, Majeed sent messages to four unidentified numbers in America, the United Arab Emirates and two from Britain.

In a possible reference to nobbling particular deliveries, he texted: "Ok how about other thing. One in the seventh over and one in the eighth."

Six minutes later, he sent another, saying: "This will only work if u score in the first 2 overs and no wickets. Also even if we bat second innings it is same."

Shortly afterwards he asked: "Bro also confirm the other thing in the 7th and 8th over. 1 fall in each."

There is no record to show whether he received replies to these messages.

During the tabloid's investigation, Majeed explained how he changed his mobile phone and SIM card every fortnight in an effort to cover his tracks.

Majeed told the tabloid: "We change our phones, and the thing is... you've got to get rid of the sim and the phone separately."

In the days before the start of Pakistan's Test series against England, Majeed allegedly ran up a four-figure phone bill. Police are diligently going through those calls.